With news coming like an avalanche out of Washington about the President authorizing illegal wiretaps in the name of the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act, the emerging controversy about the present and future uses of radio frequency ID chips, and the Department of Justice requesting and receiving the query records ... more

A while ago, and for a number of different reasons, I became interested in cryptography. For those who don’t yet know, cryptography is the study of “secret writing,” of turning a readable text into an unreadable code or cipher, in order to keep it secret. I put it that way because there’s a difference ... more

Regardless of which side of the governmental altar you pray to, some recent decisions affecting our civil liberties have raised the eyebrows of many, namely because they seem to contradict some of the basic tenets of our country’s foundation. The spectrum of viewpoints that have surfaced with regards ... more

Bruce Krane has announced his candidacy, as a Democrat, for the District 3 seat on the Pittsburgh City Council. Krane is well experienced for the job, having managed million dollar budgets as President of Pittsburgh staffing, having served the United States Army in the capacity of Military Intelligence, ... more

Well, I never. It’s like you reach a certain age, and the world is obligated to ask you personal questions about your reproductive organs. My co-conspirator and I have been together long enough that people have begun to ask, “So…when are you getting married?” as though it is inevitable. To these ... more

With the weather improving and the Steelers doing as well as they are, small businesses really need to capitalize now. Sporting events can and do have a strong effect on local business and creativity is your only friend if you don’t own a sports bar or tee shirt company. By the way if you weren’t there, ... more

So, Lemieux has decided to cash in his chips. In probably the biggest gamble in the city’s sports history, Mario took a long-term contract, at a substantial rate, from Howard Baldwin way back in the 1990s. It wasn’t all that much longer that the reality of the Penguins’ economics, from paying premium ... more

Jan. 15, 2006 Wilkinsburgh The venue that sits at 815 Penn Ave. is perfect for a gallery/music venue. The former auto-body shop is a huge space. Penn Avenue is easily accessible from all of the city and most of the suburbs. Parking on Penn Avenue is ample, to say the least. But before Paint and ... more

A new coffee shop will swing open its doors and usher in caffeine-deprived residents of the North Side. Beleza Community Coffeehouse, on the corner of Jacksonia and Buena Vista Sts. will be operated by a group of seven Michigan college grads who moved to Pittsburgh and connected with The Pittsburgh Project, ... more

Every new Quantum Theatre production arouses interest. Founder/Artistic Director Karla Boos always comes up with fascinating productions of off-beat material. The latest is “The Human Chair,” her stage adaptation of a 1925 short story by Japanese author Edogawa Rampo. The bizarre, brief piece ... more